General Cartoon / Comic Characters

This will be a step-by-step drawing workshop. I’ll start with a basic shape, showing how I can turn this into a character. Eg : a potato / blob – we’ll turn this into a 2 legged creature with hair and a tail. Within this example, I’ll also demonstrate various ways to draw eyes, hair, feet, tails and body markings.

With each next character, I’ll show how we can build on the basic shape to create more interesting and complex characters.

Topics

* The step-by-step approach is to firstly give confidence to those that might be hesitant about drawing. * Step-by-step is to also break down the myth of I could never draw that. * How a basic shape can be used as the basis for several characters. * Depending on the age group, I will set the characters accordingly. For example with secondary students, I could approach it like designing characters for a computer game. We’d look at the basic character, leveling up, how to approach a level boss design. * Ways on how I find inspiration for characters – personal influences, environmental (eg ocean creatures), client requests. * How to create interest / back stories for your characters with visual clues – eg , torn wings on a vampire creature can indicate, age, battle, an accident, maybe a hostile environment (acid rain). * Looking at proportions. * The reason for sketching / plotting before compared to jumping straight into a drawing and then running out of space. * How the environment can influence your character’s look / design * Various design styles, eg Disney vs Pokémon * Shape language, ie square body shape vs circular body shape * Pinching and pulling * How to create movement